Part 251: The Warship

Despite various reactionary academic authorities pointing out the unforgivable flaws of muzzle-loading rifled cannons, especially their “fatal” issues like slow firing speed and large deck footprint, the Planning Commission believed that at the current stage, these shortcomings would not pose an “existential” threat to the Navy in combat.

The Armstrong breech-loading guns with their screw-type breeches, which the ordnance department could produce in small numbers for the coastal artillery, had proven less than ideal in practice. The breech was particularly difficult to lock, often requiring a hammer to fully secure it. Besides being breech-loading, it offered no significant advantages over the Dahlgren rifled cannon in terms of rate of fire, range, or accuracy, yet it was far more complex to manufacture.

As for a mature and reliable interrupted screw breech, that would inevitably require rubber and asbestos for the gas seal, materials that the industrial department was still struggling to produce.

Although a new proposal was put forward—a breech mechanism using a horizontal sliding wedge with a metal gas ring, which didn’t require rubber and was within their current industrial capacity to produce—the Dahlgren gun once again won out due to its simplicity of design and the less demanding materials required. The Planning Commission eventually approved the experimental construction of two cannons with the sliding wedge breech, but it was clear they had no intention of mass-producing them in the near future.

At a meeting of the General Staff’s equipment department, Planning Commission representative Sun Xiao explained the choice of the Dahlgren rifled cannon: “Since the Navy didn’t complain about the slow loading speed when using smoothbore guns on sailing ships, we believe that using rifled cannons, which have far superior range and accuracy, on hybrid-powered warships will not be a serious problem.”

Behind the Planning Commission’s frugality lay the production bottleneck of the steel industry. Although the blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces of the Ma Niao Steel Complex were operational, their output was not satisfactory. A shortage of qualified workers and administrative personnel severely hampered further expansion of production capacity.

Lin Shenhe parked his bike outside the workshop and set it on its stand. On a special rack in an open area lay a row of newly produced Dahlgren cannon barrels. Despite being cast iron, the surfaces were smooth and regular. Lin Shenhe stopped his bike, touched the barrel and muzzle, and used his headlight to inspect the rifling inside. The craftsmanship of the machine and metallurgy departments was getting better and better.

The Ma Niao Industrial Complex could now produce high-quality pig iron ingots, which were then refined in reverberatory furnaces to produce excellent quality molten iron for casting cannons. In the past, before Lingao had its own blast furnaces, imported pig iron for cannon casting was refined using this very method.

Further away, piles of gun carriages, tracks, and metal mounting parts gleamed faintly in the dim light.

When he entered the workshop, it was thick with smoke. Blueprints were spread across the tables, and several men were gathered around them, deep in discussion.

Lin Shenhe greeted Zhou Ke and the others.

“Muzzle-loaders are really inconvenient to load,” Zhou Ke remarked. Although he was no naval expert and knew little about weaponry, a single walk around the deck and a look at the artillery and deck plans were enough to see the problem with muzzle-loading guns.

After firing, a muzzle-loader had to be retracted back onto the deck for the sailors to reload, meaning each open barbette had to be larger than the length of the gun and its carriage. A single gun position required a diameter of at least 5 meters, taking up much more space than a breech-loader.

“It’s fine. No matter how many problems a muzzle-loader has, it’s still a rifled gun. Besides, modifying the cannons will be easy later,” Lin Shenhe said. “For now, the Dahlgren gun is usable and sufficient.”

“I understand the Planning Commission’s constant push for savings, but we should really aim to get it right the first time, not constantly be doing technical upgrades…”

Lin Shenhe chuckled softly. “Get it right the first time? Let’s put it this way: if it weren’t for the high demand for HE shells, rifled cannons, and cartridge-firing rifles, the Planning Commission would probably be planning to conquer the world with 12-pounder smoothbores and Minie rifles.”

“So frugal…”

“I can understand Wu De’s thinking,” Lin Shenhe said. “Everyone else just wants what’s cool, without thinking about how to get it or what happens after. He’s trying to make a revolution on a shoestring budget.”

“Hmm, I didn’t expect you to have such a big-picture perspective,” Zhou Ke said.

“Not at all, not at all. I don’t have a big-picture view, just sharing some thoughts.”

Zhou Ke said, “Let’s go take a walk on the ship. We can check the situation on-site.” He picked up a phone and cranked the handle twice. “Turn on the lights at the naval pier.”

A few minutes later, all the electric lights on the naval pier lit up, illuminating the area. The light wasn’t strong enough to light up every corner of the ship, but it was enough to make out the general shapes of things and avoid stumbling.

Under the lights, the ship’s hull showed an irregular, pale black color—the result of unskilled painters applying asphalt paint. The hull was made of lychee wood imported from Guangdong and Vietnam, which was very sturdy. From the outside, one couldn’t tell that the ribs and keel were made of iron, as they were completely covered by the outer planking.

Three masts stood tall on the deck. The three composite masts of the 1630-class were shorter than those of its prototype. The Navy couldn’t train enough sailors skilled at climbing masts and handling sails, so its rigging was simplified as much as possible, and it used a steam-powered capstan to handle the ropes.

The rigging was fully installed. The white sails were furled, and the jute ropes, crisscrossing in a complex pattern, all appeared dark and tarry. Lin Shenhe instinctively reached out to touch one.

“Don’t touch it, it’s covered in tar!” Zhou Ke quickly warned him.

Startled, Lin Shenhe pulled his hand back. The deck was also coated with the same tar. Even so, the beautiful grain of the wood was visible under the lights.

“It’s made of imported Southeast Asian teak,” Zhou Ke said. “Quite a luxury.”

Lin Shenhe, however, was unfazed. Using teak for warship decks was common in the past; even 20th-century battleships and aircraft carriers used this expensive wood for their decks.

The 1630-class had a central island layout. The single smokestack was located in the middle of the island, painted black with a yellow identification band—the only bright color on the entire ship.

The foundations for the open barbettes had already been installed at the designated gun positions, waiting for the tracks, carriages, and barrels to be mounted the next morning.

Because the 1630-class was a hybrid sail-steam warship, the three masts severely restricted the guns’ fields of fire. The foremast and mizzenmast were directly in front of the main guns, preventing them from firing directly forward or aft. Due to considerations of hull structure and center of gravity, the two main gun barbettes were located closer to the center of the ship. Therefore, the firepower at 0 degrees forward and aft was provided by the secondary guns on the broadsides. The only way for the 1630-class to bring its maximum firepower to bear was still a broadside salvo.

Lin Shenhe knew the gun positions like the back of his hand; he had been one of the participants in the initial discussions about the armament layout. There had been intense debates about the gun arrangements for the Type 854 and 901. The final plan for the Type 854 Mod was a slightly modified version of its blueprint’s layout.

The ship’s armament consisted of one open barbette on the centerline of the forecastle and another on the sterncastle, each mounting a 130mm Dahlgren rifled cannon. There were also gun casemates on the port and starboard sides at the bow, midship, and stern, each housing one 75mm Dahlgren rifled cannon, for a total of six secondary guns. Auxiliary weapons included four “typewriter” machine guns mounted on the sides of the deck. The guns used circular tracks for rotation, slide rails for recoil, and manual traversing and elevation gears.

According to the destructive power tests conducted by the Navy and the ordnance department at the firing range, effectively destroying the oak hull of a contemporary galleon while also having some shore bombardment capability required a shell with a charge of about 2 kilograms of high-density pressed black powder. Factoring in the loading ratio, this meant a high-explosive shell weighing 25-35 kilograms, corresponding to a caliber of 120mm or more. Thus, the 130mm rifled cannon was ultimately chosen.

The barbettes themselves had no armor, only steel splinter shields. The only armor on the entire 1630-class was a thin layer of steel protecting the magazine. As for the boiler room, the coal bunkers on either side provided its protection.

Normally, the barbettes were covered with folding canvas awnings to shield them from the sun and rain, which would be removed in combat.

“The 1630-class is still a bit small. Otherwise, we could have used fully enclosed turrets and even installed mechanized loading equipment,” Zhou Ke said with some regret.

Lin Shenhe felt the same way. The small tonnage of the ship also limited the size of its naval guns. With Lingao’s current industrial capacity, it wouldn’t be difficult to manufacture muzzle-loading rifled cannons of 200mm or more. Furthermore, since the 130mm shell was at the limit of what could be loaded by hand, larger guns would require a mechanically assisted loading system, which also needed more space on the ship.

He walked onto the bridge, where most of the equipment was already installed. However, some of the more advanced navigation equipment was still “in development,” with only the mounting positions reserved. The chronometer was still one brought from the old world. He noticed that the bridge of the 1630-class also had a dedicated fire control tower. He climbed up and found it empty, with nothing but a table and chairs inside—no fire control equipment at all.

Zhou Ke explained that the original plan was to install artillery observation scopes, rangefinders, a plotting board, and a mechanical ballistic computer.

“What—” Lin Shenhe was so surprised his jaw nearly dropped. He had thought they were just planning some basic “fire control equipment” like telescopes and rangefinders. He never expected something as “advanced” as a ballistic computer. It was truly a leap forward.